Carolina Rigging With Peter T

Written And Illustrated By BERNIE SCHULTZ

Dragging a lizard on a Carolina rig is one of this young Florida pro's fortes...

      When fast-paced tactics fail to produce, a Carolina rig may be your best - or only - bet to stir up some action.
      Also called "dragging" by many touring professionals, the technique is considered to be effective year-round, under a variety of conditions. And for many of these same pros, Carolina rigging is the single most reliable technique for inactive bass.
      Regardless of season or geographic location, bass are usually active for only brief periods on any given day. Between these active periods, slower, more thorough techniques outproduce quicker tactics.
      That's when Florida pro Peter Thliveros switches to Carolina-rig plastics. According to Thliveros, these rigs are the absolute best way to provoke inactive, bottom-relating fish into feeding.
      "It's the most consistent technique I know," he states. "It can work just about anywhere!".
     Lakes and rivers, regardless of makeup, will usually offer some situation ideal for Carolina rigging. Provided there is a reasonable slope (less than vertical) to the bottom and some kind of fish-holding cover present, it's almost a guaranteed strategy. And for bodies of water with little or no apparent cover, it may be your only option.

      Despite what many anglers believe, Carolina rigs can be fished quickly, without compromising efficiency. Considered to be a super-slow pattern, the truth is, they're the quickest way, aside from crankbaits, to search out the bottom features of any likely area.
      "I fish a Carolina rig faster than most," claims Thliveros. "I can even use them to find fish. I cover lots of water until I catch a bass, then I slow down and work the area thoroughly."
      To achieve this, Thliveros believes a heavy, 1-ounce weight is crucial to distinguish individual features while remaining in contact with the bottom.
      This is essential when using a faster retrieve. Thliveros' heavy lead, combined with a 7-foot graphite rod, helps him to discern different bottom compositions, too. Much like the way a visually impaired person would use a cane to find his way, Thliveros can detect subtle differences in sand, mud, rock or wood and whether the bottom is soft or hard.
      "This information helps me to put patterns together," he says. "Once I catch a fish on a particular type of bottom, I can begin to search for areas of similar composition."

      For instance, if bass are holding on secondary points in 5 to 10 feet of water around stumps, chances are good that other points (with similar cover at the same depth) will also hold fish. Thus, the basics of a point pattern. Then it's only a matter of determining the best soft plastic for the job.
      Thliveros likes lizards in most situations. Day in and day out, lizards continue to produce in a variety of depths and cover types. Another top choice is a crawfish imitation. Thliveros likes the Luck "E" Strike Guido Bug, named after his friend and mentor Guido Hibdon. Thliveros uses this when he discovers that the bass are feeding on live crawfish.
      When the bite is extremely tough, he'll change to a Luck "E" Strike French Fry. These smaller offerings are often effective when larger baits are not. Thliveros uses these before giving up on a likely spot.
      Regardless of his choice of plastics, his color selection remains very basic. It includes pumpkinseed, pumpkinseed with a chartreuse tail, pumpkinseed with green glitter, watermelon and black-blue.
      He rigs his plastics on a leader of 2 to 7 feet, depending on the type of cover and water temperature. His rule is "the colder the water, the shorter the leader; the warmer the water, the longer the leader."



 

 Lures - Lizards: Zoom, Zetabait, Jawtec, Kalin, Berkeley, Riverside, Gene Larew, Bass Pro Shops, etc. Crawdads: Luck "E" Strike, Zetabait, Jawtec, Gene Larew, Kalin, Mister Twister, Riverside, etc. Other lures: Zoom Centipede, Luck "E" Strike French Fry.

  Lure Colors - Pumpkinseed, pumpkinseed/chartreuse tail, green pumpkin, pumpkinseed/green glitter, watermelon seed, black and blue.

  Equipment - 7-foot, medium-heavy graphite casting rod with 6:1 ratio casting reel, spooled with 16- to 20-pound-test line. Leader material ranges from 8- to 20- pound depending on cover and water clarity.

  Seasonal Effectiveness - Year-round; best from post-spawn through late fall.

  Water Clarity - Clear to stained. Not good in muddy conditions.

  Cover - Sand, rock, gravel, mud, stumps, grass, etc.

  Depth Range - Usually productive to approximately 20 feet. Can work at greater depths.

 Presentation - Whether fishing from shallow to deep or vice-versa, cast beyond intended area and allow the rig to settle on the bottom.

 Retrieve - Drag bait quickly until cover or fish are located, then slow the retrieve. Shake the rod tip anytime lead is in contact with an underwater object.

  Rigging - Slip the main line through the lead, then both beads. Secure to one end of swivel. Leader length will run from 2 to 7 feet. Attach hook to trailing end, then join soft plastic trailer.

      His basic rig consists of lead weight, approximately 1-ounce in weight, two beads, a swivel and either a Luck "E" Strike HP hook or a typical offset worm hook (See Fig. 2.)
      He throws this rig on a 7-foot, medium-heavy graphite rod and a fast, 6:1 ratio casting reel. The reels are spooled with 16- to 20-pound-test line, while his leaders test between 8 and 20 pounds. Water clarity and cover type dictate line size for the leaders.
      Once his rig is set up, Thliveros begins his search in predictable locations. If asked to choose a single situation to apply the technique, his first choice would be a "defined point," either primary or secondary.
      "I like sloping points that fall off into deep water with a channel nearby," he confides. "And if there's a spawning flat in the area, that's all the better!"
      Thliveros knows these protruding structures often intersect or connect migration routes between channels and flats. And at some point, bass will use them.
     Depending on the time of year, Thliveros targets specific features within a given depth range, such as rocks, stumps, or even grass. In extreme cool or warm temperatures, he looks deep. In more moderate temperatures he focuses on the shallows (less than 10 feet). The exception might be when bass are following schools of baitfish. Carolina rigs can still produce in these situations, although the approach is usually more random.

      During pre- and post-spawn periods, Thliveros works spawning flats adjacent to points. He often targets the shallower parts of the point itself as he looks for staging females.
      Throughout the actual spawn, he concentrates solely on bedding areas. As fish begin to leave the shallows, Thliveros looks for them around the nearest contour or depth change by using his Carolina rig to probe for bottom features that could hold fish.
      During the rest of the year, he expects most of the action to take place directly on the point itself. The depth and position of the bass may vary, but if forage and good cover are present, bass will usually be close by.
     Throughout the year, Thliveros knows that a Carolina rig will be his most consistent producer. Other techniques may excel from time to time, but you can bet Thliveros will always have a rod rigged Carolina-style, ready for action.

Tips For Carolina Rigging      

Thliveros suggests staying in close contact with the bottom by reading signals transmitted from the lead weight through a graphite rod. When you feel the lead strike an object, pause it while shaking the rod tip to rattle the beads. If this fails to produce a strike, lift the rod to pull the soft plastic bait onto the cover. Shake the rod tip on a slack line while the bait hovers over the object. Usually, this is all that is needed to excite the fish into striking.


Send e-mail to bernie@bernieschultzfishing.com with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2002 Bernie Schultz Fishing